Istanbul
-
Attend a Fenerbahce match in Istanbul (Turkey)
To buy tickets for a Galatasaray match, you must have a Passolig card. I wrote a detailed article on the subject here: how to get a Passolig card. After attending a match of Galatasaray and one of Besiktas, I end my tour of the 3 mythical clubs of Istanbul with a match of Fenerbahce A special feature of this evening: it is a mini-derby. Fenerbahce indeed faces another Istanbul club: İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor (Istanbul BB) This match does not generate the same passion as the big derby between the 3 big ones: Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce but the atmosphere promises to be warmer than the first two games I attended.…
-
Discovery of the Turkish Baths (hammam) in Istanbul (Turkey)
What I particularly appreciate about traveling is trying to live authentic, typically local experiences. Traveling by public transportation, eating in dive bars where no tourist has ever set foot, getting a shave at the barbershop… or going to the public baths. I really liked the thermal baths in Budapest, appreciated the peculiarity of the sauna in Minsk, loved the onsens and sentos in Japan, a little less the Jjimjilbang in South Korea. In Turkey, it is impossible not to test the traditional hammams (or Turkish baths)! The tradition of the hammams is lost in Turkey. 100 years ago, there were 2500 Turkish baths in Istanbul. Since then the baths have…
-
Attend a Besiktas match in Istanbul (Turkey)
To buy tickets for a Besiktas match, you absolutely must have a Passolig card. I wrote a detailed article on the subject here: how to get a Passolig card. The day after my first soccer experience in Turkey (with a Galatasaray match), it is this time at a Besiktas match that I will attend. The Istanbul club is playing against Kayserispor The match takes place at Vodafone Park, a recently inaugurated venue that opened in 2016 and can accommodate 41,900 people I walk to the stadium since it is only 20 minutes from our Airbnb No particular difficulty to find my entrance. Like the day before, I have to present…
-
Attend a Galatasaray match in Istanbul (Turkey)
To buy tickets for a Galatasaray match, you must have a Passolig card. I wrote a detailed article on the subject here: how to get a Passolig card. Happy to have recovered my Passolig card, I buy a ticket for the first available game, it will be Galatasaray vs BB Erzurumspor for the 7th day of the Turkish championship The match takes place at the Türk Telekom Arena, a brand new stadium (inaugurated in 2011) with a capacity of 53,000 seats The stadium is a little bit off-center, along a highway. It is accessible by subway, about an hour from our Airbnb. As I’m a little bit tight in terms…
-
First Days in Istanbul (Turkey) #1: our Airbnb & Saint Sophia Basilica
This is the first time we visit Turkey and we heard so much good things that we decide to stay there for a month and a half. In Istanbul mainly, with a few weekends here and there Part 1: Travel Diary Part 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Diary Our arrival in Istanbul The journey Minsk => Istanbul is done by plane with Turkish Airline. For this 2h flight, I even had a screen + the time to watch a movie in the plane (there are movies that can only be watched in a plane it’s strange, maybe because we have nothing else to do we have all the patience…
